Austen’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet deals with the issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Austen at her wittiest.

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Publisher's Summary

Austen’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet deals with the issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Austen at her wittiest.

Would you consider the audio edition of Pride And Prejudice to be better than the print version?

I have read Pride and Prejudice multiple times and thought this portrayal was spot on- Emma Messenger really captures the characters with the different voices she does. The voice used for Mrs. Bennett in particular was just perfect.

Which character – as performed by Emma Messenger – was your favorite?

My favorite character in the book is Elizabeth Bennett- a strong, opinionated and confident woman. But while Mrs. Bennett is an obnoxious woman, Emmas portrayal was so perfect it made me actually enjoy hearing all the foolish things she says.

Any additional comments?

This is my favorite book and having the audio edition to listen to while I work out is great-- I highly recommend this particular version because it really gives you the full Pride and Prejudice experience.

That Pride and Prejudice is wonderful is not news. Anyone who appreciates novels of wit, intelligence, and manners has probably encountered it already.

I'm writing this review to comment upon the narration which unfortunately was not up to the standards of the novel. It was often difficult to tell minor characters apart. For example the two Bingley sisters sounded almost the same and in rapid-fire dialog it was impossible to discern who was talking. Although the narrator was quite good conveying enthusiasm and animation, she fell into an unfortunate pattern when reading straight descriptions. Every sentence began to sound just like the last as her voice rose and fell in the same way from line to line.

Also, this should be marked as an abridged copy. Or perhaps it is simply very badly proofed. At one point I was having trouble following fast dialogue and picked up the book to get a handle on who was talking. That is when I discovered the narrator would omit occasional words (such as, "said Mr. Bingley"). This is inexcusable.

If I'd have picked this up from LibriVox as the work of a talented amateur it would have been fine. As something offered from Audible it is reprehensible. Only the extreme low cost offsets the many flaws. And even then one is not sure that is enough to excuse it.

Almost everyone has read Pride and Prejudice, so why should you buy this audiobook? Buy it for Emma Messenger. She's done a superb, superb job. Great vocal modulation, a warm, easy style, and the characters really come alive. Recommended.

Not to be reductive of a very important book, but this provides the storylines for every single romantic comedy and high school drama ever made. The characters are very compelling.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are far too many great scenes to say there was one best, but one of the most memorable was Mr. Collins' proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. Her refusal and his mental contortions to make himself believe that she really wasn't saying no was hilarious.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No tears yet, but plenty of laughter. Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins are both perfect comic relief.

Any additional comments?

Audiobooks aren't a replacement for reading obviously, but at their best they can bring those books to life in interesting ways. Emma Messenger manages to do that with Pride and Prejudice beautifully. The depth and timbre of her voice make the listen a true pleasure.

Even more than her voice, however, is her voice acting which makes the fascinating characters of the novel truly come to life. Her shrill, loud Mrs. Bennet helps bring out all the comic awfulness of her personality. Even better, in my mind, was the self-important harrumphing of Mr. Collins. The deep, dramatic breaths she would give him before every mention of Lady Catherine de Bourgh truly brought to life the ridiculousness of his character.

Emma Messenger is quickly becoming one of my favorite readers and I hope she continues to read titles for Audible.com.

If you could sum up Pride And Prejudice in three words, what would they be?

Charming, Captivating, and Insightful !

What did you like best about this story?

It gave me insights into a society that was bounded much by decorum, aristocracy, and a strong sense of moral code. It made me appreciate the importance of manners and measured communication in human relationships. It is interesting to note that while communication was proper and formal and somewhat restraint, the manner in which the men in the stories would suddenly propose marriage in an effusive manner to women they hardly knew was wildly surprising and somewhat entertaining.

Have you listened to any of Emma Messenger’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I was acquainted with Emma Messenger - her dramatic reading of the lines and her rendition of the characters, particularly Mrs Bennett, Mr Collins, and Lady Catherine was unique and entertaining. My appreciation of the novel was enhanced by Emma Messenger's passionate but thoughtful reading of the story. I would certainly buy another book, read by Ms Messenger, regardless of the book's content.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Because the language was somewhat formal and traditional and that the length of the entire audiobook was 14 over hours, it would have been hard to listen to everything in one sitting. But I found myself being drawn to the insights that the author had given us about the characters and the rather unusual and unique choice of words.

Any additional comments?

Initially I was concerned about the length of the novel and the language used might not sustain my interest - but i was wrong. I found myself being engaged, enthralled,and enlightened by this book. No wonder this book has sold more than 20 million copies since it was first published. And i can't believe that I am actually looking forward to listening to another unabridged audio book by Jane Austen.

The narrator starts out enthusiastically, delivering an excited Mrs. Bennet at the prospect of an aristocrat moving to her town and maybe some day marrying one of her daughters. But then all of the characters' lines are delivered with almost the same enthusiasm throughout the book. You'd think that Jane Austen ended every other sentence with an exclamation mark. I'm not a huge fan.

Yes. I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narration was excellent and although I'm familiar with the story, it was a very different experience to reading the book or watching a movie/TV series. The narration made the characters very human, and the subtle humour was much funnier in this format.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well, it's really from Elizabeth's point of view and she is the most sympathetically portrayed character, so Elizabeth. But it's hard not to love her father.

Have you listened to any of Emma Messenger’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No - but her narration was excellent and I would be more likely to buy another title she reads.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I thought the telling of such a fantastic story was well done by Emma Messenger, her voices an excellent description of each character and the narration clear and at a good pace. The one and only issue I have with this audiobook is that some odd words seem to have been omitted entirely; from what I could make out it was generally the names of places. While this did not entirely ruin the narration, it did detriment it slightly and was very noticeable when it occurred. Otherwise I thought it was brilliant!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Susan

Sevenoaks, United Kingdom

7/9/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Classic story."

What did you like best about this story?

Well known and loved classic which I wanted for my library as a comfort listen.

What didn’t you like about Emma Messenger’s performance?

I found the style of narration not to my taste - her intonation was irritating.

Was Pride And Prejudice worth the listening time?

A 'must' listen but I suggest you choose a version by another reader.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Charlotte

7/28/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"I expected Mrs Bennetts voice to be infuriating.."

But the reader out did herself in conveying just how infuriating a character she is! I winced everytime Mrs Bennett talked !

Classic story that was in general narrated well but I became infuriated by the repeated oddity of place names simply omitted mid sentence. There was also other fluffs such as repeated paragraphs. Call me pedantic but these just ruin the flow of a story for me. I would be tempted to try one of the other versions of this if you're likely to feel similarly.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Avlon Maynard

6/21/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fantastic "

I have always loved Pride and Prejudice. Emma Messenger has read this beautifully, I am looking for book she has also narrated.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

2/27/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent classic-a bucket list novel for everyone"

Any additional comments?

Most of us will be familiar with this classic love story, for me it was bought cheaply as an add-on to my free kindle edition so was excellent value for money and offered the opportunity to switch between kindle and audio versions. Emma Messenger captures the obnoxious and annoying characteristics of Mrs Bennett perfectly, however I agree with some of the other reviews, that at times there is lack of distinction between the different voices used for the various characters. As a cheap audio book it’s great, but I would have been disappointed if this had been purchased using my monthly credit.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Peachey1

1/23/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Not a great audio version for a Brit"

I love this book, but less than 5 minutes into it I realised it was not being read by an English person. The faults in the pronunciation are many, despite a gallant attempt at the accent. It was way too annoying for me, but it is otherwise well performed and someone who is not British might not notice the subtle errors.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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